This invention relates to locks for patio doors, and more particularly to a lock adapted to allow the placement of mounting screws at multiple points along the entire length of the lock.
Existing lock assemblies for sliding glass doors are limited in both the number and locations available for the placement of mounting screws. The typical lock assembly for a sliding glass door with its enclosed design can only accommodate placement of mounting screws at the extreme ends of the lock due to the fact that the entire lock assembly is enclosed within a housing assembly.
Multi-point latch mechanisms for sliding glass doors have been described in related art such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,170. This existing lock mechanism teaches the use of an upper and a lower actuator connected by a gang link. An upper link causes pivotal movement of the upper latch, and a lower link causes pivotal movement of a lower latch. Advantageously, in contrast to the prior art, the proposed design includes a central actuator coupled to two standard mortise locks-i.e. Commonly known to those skilled in the art of linkage assembly. The linkage assembly consists of two linkage rods connected to the top and bottom of this central actuator such that rotation of the hub of this central actuator causes the upper and lower mortise locks to become engaged or disengaged depending on the direction of rotation of the central actuator hub.
The use of a single central actuator hub for the deployment of the hooks in the mortise lock components also contributes to another advantage over the prior locks. Specifically, this hook deployment action is so precise that the translational movement of the opposed hooks within the keepers is so circumscribed that the size of the keepers may be reduced. Advantageously, the smaller keeper opening creates a stronger locking force for the multi-point lock.
The use of common, off the shelf mortise locks as components for the instant invention has additional advantages. Namely, the production and replacement costs of the lock of the present invention are reduced, thus making the instant design more competitive in the marketplace. In addition, the proposed locking system also uses fewer total components to achieve its multi-lock function. Advantageously, this also reduces the total cost of the lock assembly.
Accordingly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide an improved lock assembly whereby the number and location of sites for the placement of mounting screws is increased to incorporate the entire length of the lock.
Still another object of the instant invention is to provide a multi-point lock having a single central actuator hub which is responsible for the deployment of the opposed hooks in the mortise lock components in an efficient and reliable manner such that fewer total components are used in the design.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved multi-point lock with a precise hook deployment such that the size of the keeper holes with which said hooks become engaged can be reduced.
A further object of the instant invention is to provide an improved multipoint lock having reduced production and replacement costs attributed to a design which incorporates mortise lock components common to those skilled in the art.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from a review of the description provided below.
The instant invention is organized about the concept of providing a multi-point lock, which may be used for sliding patio doors, in which the multi-points of engagement of the mortise lock hooks with their associated keepers is achieved by the use of a single central actuator hub which engages two remote actuators via a linkage rod assembly.
In an exemplary embodiment according to the instant invention, the multi-point lock comprises a central actuator hub, a linkage assembly pivotally engaged with the central actuator hub, two remote actuators, two mortise locks each of which has a hook which are in opposed orientation with each other. Rotation of the central actuator hub in turn causes movement of the linkage assembly that is pivotally attached to the central actuator hub. The linkage assembly is comprised of a straight actuator link and a dog leg actuator link. Movement of the straight actuator link in response to rotation of the central actuator hub in turn causes rotation of a first remote actuator. Likewise, movement of the dog leg actuator link in response to rotation of the central hub actuator causes rotation of a second remote actuator. Each of the remote actuators in turn actuates a mortise lock such that a hook in each of these mortise locks is deployed to engage a keeper mounted on the stile of the door.